HON 120 PAPER 1: CREATION MYTHS

How did the universe come into existence? How did our planet form? How did life develop? How did our own species come into existence? These all are questions that people have attempted to answer through myth as well as science. Therein lies the heart of this assignment.

Your job is to:

•    Select a creation myth (other than the Judeo-Christian myth found in the Bible) from any culture you wish.  This will involve familiarizing yourself with the creation myth of a culture of your choosing (found in an ethnography or an account on the internet)

•    Read the creation myth.

•    Briefly summarize the myth. 

•    Attempt to answer the following questions within the context of the myth:      

Did the universe have a beginning? 

            If so, where do the people say the universe comes from? 

            How were plants and animals created and by whom? 

            Where do people come from? 

            Who created them? 

      What is the relationship between humans, other elements of creation, and the creator(s)?

•    Prepare a short (five or six minutes) , informal, oral presentation for the class in which you provide a summary of the myth and answer the above questions as best you can. Half of the class will present their myths on January 29, half on January 31; all of you should be prepared for Jan 29.

•    Write up your presentation in typed form and hand it in. It should summarize the myth and answer the above-listed questions. Also, compare the myth you examined with one of the myths presented by another student in the class; along with references cited for your myth, include in your paper relevant citations from the paper of the other student whose myth you are discussing. You and another student can exchange rough drafts of your papers to make this easier (or just exchange citations via email). The paper should be approximately 5, double-spaced pages. It is due on February 7.